Distribution Strategy
Part of the challenge of marketing is figuring out which
distribution method to use for your business. As soon
as you decide which business or product category to compete
in, distribution decisions must be made based upon what
your competition is doing.
Service businesses may or may not be subject to the same
physical distribution limitations as product-based businesses.
For example, financial planning services may be offered
from printed material, sold at retail, sold by consultants
face-to-face, or delivered electronically by computer,
by phone and by correspondence — a multitude of
different distribution systems.
Distribution decisions have significant implications
for:
- product margins and profits
- marketing budgets
- final retail pricing
- sales management practices
Distribution channels can include one or more of these
options:
- retail — stores selling to final consumer buyers
(one store, or a chain of stores)
- wholesale — an intermediary distribution channel
that usually sells to retail stores
- direct mail — generally catalog merchants that
sell directly to consumer buyers at retail prices plus
shipping (e.g., Land's End, L.L. Bean) via mail
- telemarketing — merchants selling directly
to consumer buyers at retail via phones
- cybermarketing — merchants selling directly
to consumer buyers at retail prices, or business-to-business
products and services at wholesale prices via computer
networks
- sales force — salaried employees of a company,
or independent commissioned representatives who usually
sell products for more than one company.
From CCH Business Owner's Toolkit™